


Resurface

by BunniesofDoom



Series: Eye for an Eye [6]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dreams and Nightmares, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Phantom pain, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Ruby Rose (RWBY) has PTSD, Self-Indulgent, Volume 7 (RWBY), give ruby a day off challenge, remember when our girls were together, she needs it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28172343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: Ruby's encounter with Tyrian dredges up some bad memories.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose, Ruby Rose & Team RWBY, Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Series: Eye for an Eye [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039609
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's still alive? That's right, my finals didn't kill me (and I hopefully didn't fail any of them). Sorry for not posting for so long, but I had to take a break to cram for my exams. So here's some self indulgent nonsense before the new episode emotionally demolishes me. I'm going to go pack now.
> 
> Enjoy!

The evening had been going well, all things considered. But the second she spots him in the crowd, Ruby’s mind is racing with questions and panic.

Tyrian is here? How? And why? What is he planning to do?

For several crucial moments Ruby is frozen, unable to move or speak. She needs to speak up, to warn someone, Marrow, Penny, Robyn. Seized with terror, she’s unable to force her body into action. She’s left to just stare in disbelief at the man standing only a few feet to her left.

Tyrian glances over at her and winks. Then the lights go out.

It takes her a moment to adjust to the dark, but at least she can finally move. There’s no time to think about what just happened or how it’s even possible for Tyrian to be here; she needs to protect the people in the crowd, protect Robyn. Ruby springs forward.

So much for a night off.

The rest of the night passes in a blur. Nine people are dead. Penny was framed. Weiss’ father won a seat on the council. None of it adds up. Ruby wishes that she could talk to Penny and reassure her friend, but she hasn’t seen the redhead since she fled Robyn’s rally.

Her heart is still racing when they debrief with Ironwood. She hadn’t felt safe in Atlas since they’d arrived, the constant presence of the security drones and the military fleet hanging over the city like an oppressive fog, but now that she knows that Tyrian is out there, it feels even more dangerous. He’s out there somewhere, stalking the streets of Mantle, and none of them know where.

Whatever he’s plotting, whatever he and Salem are working on in Atlas, she can’t even guess, but it’s coming. Whether they’re prepared or not.

It’s very late when Ironwood finally dismisses them. (Or technically very early in the morning, if that’s how you choose to look at it.) She and the others make their way back to the dorms in silence. Nobody is willing to talk as they change into their pajamas and clamber into their bunks.

Ruby does her best to quiet her racing thoughts as she gets ready for bed. She needs to stop thinking so much if she wants to have any chance of getting some sleep tonight.

“Ruby? Are you okay?” Yang’s question breaks the tense silence, making Ruby jump. Even though her sister’s voice is soft, it sounds like one of Crescent Rose’s sniper rounds in the deafening quiet.

“I’m fine,” she replies, after taking a second to compose herself and shooting her sister a reassuring smile. “Tyrian didn’t even touch me. I just need to sleep. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

She can feel Yang’s eyes on her back as she crawls into bed and tugs the covers up to her chin. She is fine. Just exhausted. And she definitely doesn’t need to talk about—whatever that was that happened at the rally today.

Things will look better in the morning.

Ruby wakes up screaming.

She’s dimly aware of the sounds of worried voices around her—she must have woken her team. A distant part of her feels embarrassed and guilty for disturbing the others; usually she’s able to keep better control over herself after one of these dreams. But it’s been months since she had a nightmare this bad. Tyrian’s skin-crawling laughter is still ringing in her ears, and the left side of her face burns like someone poured a bunch of fire dust where her left eye should be.

When she finally manages to compose herself enough to open her eye and stop screaming, the sight of three worried faces greets her. “Sorry,” Ruby manages to croak out, face flushing with shame. She brings a hand up to scrub at the tear tracks on her cheeks.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yang reassures her, one hand rubbing gentle circles between Ruby’s shoulder blades. Ruby leans into the gentle touch, sagging into her sister’s chest. She feels even more exhausted than before she went to sleep.

“Nightmare?” Weiss asks, twisting her hands together the way she does when she’s anxious and desperate for something to do. When Ruby nods slightly, she turns and takes a few steps away from the bunks, messing with something just out of Ruby’s line of sight.

“Was it about Tyrian?” Blake asks. Ruby shudders a bit at the mention of his name and jerks her head in a nod.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Yang suggests. This time, Ruby shakes her head violently. The phantom pain of her left eye has faded to a dull ache, but that won’t last if she dredges up those bad memories again.

Yang sighs. Weiss rejoins them, carefully handing Ruby a glass of water. “Drink this, you’ll feel better.”

Ruby takes slow sips. The cold water soothes her sore throat, and she’s grateful for the distraction from her troubled thoughts. By the time she finishes drinking, her hands have stopped shaking and her breathing is steadier. She lefts herself drift as the other girls murmur to each other.

“Ruby?” Blake asks softly, jolting her from her half-asleep trance. “Do you want us to leave you alone and let you get some sleep?”

Ruby immediately shakes her head. “No, stay. Please?” She’ll probably feel guilty about it in the morning, but right now the thought of being alone is terrifying.

It’s a tight fit with the four of them in one bunk, but they manage to make it work. Ruby finds herself drifting off to sleep again, sandwiched between her sister and Weiss. It’s hard to feel afraid with her teammates by her side.

They’ll get through this together.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning dawns slowly. It seems that Penny is still making herself scarce after last night, so the members of team RWBY are permitted to sleep in for the first time since arriving in Atlas.

Weiss is the first one to wake up, carefully dislodging herself from the tangle of bodies on Yang’s bunk. She’s used to being the first one up, having always been an early riser, and the first thing she does after making herself presentable is head to the cafeteria to fetch some coffee.

Blake is the next one awake. She clambers down from the bed to join Weiss at the tiny table in the corner, pouring herself a cup of coffee with a murmured “thank you.” The pair is content to sit in silence as their other teammates sleep, Blake reading a book and Weiss tapping away at her scroll. 

For once, Yang comes to without her usual groans and demands for “five more minutes.” Instead, she sits up slowly, not making a sound, taking great pains to settle Ruby back on the bed and tuck her back under the covers before she climbs down to join the others. Her sister doesn’t even stir.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Weiss asks softly once Yang is seated at the table with them.

“She’ll be okay,” Yang reassures her, pausing to take a sip of her coffee. “She’s a tough kid. Tyrian, on the other hand . . .” She trails off, the threat obvious in her tone.

“What should we do?” asks Blake. “I mean, obviously someone needs to track down Tyrian, and put a stop to whatever he’s up to, but—”

“We shouldn’t be the ones to go after him,” Weiss finishes for him.

Yang nods reluctantly. “As much as I’d like to give him a beatdown for what he did to Ruby, I don’t want her anywhere near him. And there’s no way I’m leaving her behind, especially after what happened last night.”

“So, what do we do?” Weiss asks, desperate for something to do to help her friend.

“We stay by her side, and we help her get through this.” Yang glances over at her sleeping sister’s face.

Blake nods, looking determined. “We might not have been there the last time she faced him, but we can be there for her now.”

It’s light outside when Ruby finally wakes. She bolts upright in a panic, groaning. “I’m going to be late!”

She hears a faint chuckle, and she turns her head to see her sister smiling fondly at her. “Relax, sis. We’ve got the day off today.”

What? That doesn’t sound right. Ruby’s head is still foggy with sleep, so it takes a moment for the events of last night to catch up with her. “Huh? But General Ironwood said he needed all hands on deck after what happened at the rally.”

Blake shrugs. “Well, we decided that you need a day off. A proper break, since last night turned out to be such a mess.”

“But—” Ruby still isn’t convinced.

“Ruby,” Weiss chides gently. “Be honest. You can’t possibly feel up to working today.”

Weiss isn’t wrong. Ruby still feels a bit off, spacey, like the world is a bit muffled and distant. But really, that shouldn’t be enough to stop her. She’s a huntress now. This is her job.

But she’s so tired.

“So, what can I do today?” she hears herself ask.

Yang grins at her, obviously relieved. “Whatever you want, so long as you’re resting.”

“Atlas Academy has no shortage of things to do,” Weiss says, sounding as if she’s reading off a brochure. “We could watch a movie, or go to the library, or—”

“Can we watch a movie?” Ruby blurts out. She blushes. “Sorry. It’s just been a long time since . . .” She trails off. “Since we’ve done something normal like that.”

“A movie sounds great,” Blake says with a smile.

“Anything else?” Yang asks eagerly.

Maybe it won’t kill her to take one day off. “Can we maybe get some popcorn, and maybe some hot chocolate?”

“Breakfast of champions,” Weiss mutters under her breath. She clears her throat when Yang shoots her a glare. “I mean, I’m on it.”

Yang just grins wider. “Whatever you want, sis.”

Ruby’s pretty sure that she could ask them to fix the broken moon and they’d do it. She’s lucky to have such a good team at her side.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> My brain is still fried from finals, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down, so hopefully it turned out okay! I am apparently incapable of writing things in order.


End file.
